PUB begins public hearing on power rates

The province’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) is into a public hearing this morning on Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro’s general rate application.

The Holyrood Hydro generating plant is seen around 5 p.m. as the sun was setting in January 2014 . N.L. Hydro says the utility is better prepared for the upcoming winter and has a better communication plan in place. — File photo by Joe Gibbons/The Telegram

The application dates back to November 2014 and, as previously reported, requests a rate increase — asking customers to pay more for every kilowatt of electricity used.

The general rate application is the second attempt by Hydro to settle on new rates, with an earlier application submitted in 2013 ultimately having been withdrawn.

Hydro’s main customer, Newfoundland Power, the Consumer Advocate, other interveners and the PUB itself have been putting questions in writing to Hydro for months now, as part of the detailed rate review process.

For more on the GRA: http://www.pub.nf.ca/applications/NLH2013GRA-Amended/index.htm

The hearings are expected to touch on everything from rising capital costs, to fuel use at Holyrood, to the reports issued by PUB-paid Liberty Consulting, including one released in July stating Hydro made “imprudent” decisions leading to damages and $26.9 million in related costs.